What is BS 8500-2:2023 - Specification for constituent materials and concrete about?

The UK construction sector increasingly wants access to lower carbon concretes to meet net zero targets, especially as the availability of GGBS (ground granulated blast-furnace slag) may diminish nationally towards the end of the decade.

BS 8500-2:2023 complements the European concrete specification standard, BS EN 206 by giving UK specific guidance on constituent materials and concrete with lower carbon compositions.

Who is BS 8500-2:2023 - Specification for constituent materials and concrete for?

It will be used in the built environment, infrastructure, road building, house building and commercial premises building industries. Users will be:

• cement producers
• concrete producers (ready-mixed, precast, volumetric)
• larger contractors (concrete frame, infrastructure)
• consultants (engineers, architects, National Highways, Environment Agency etc.)

What does BS 8500-2:2023 - Specification for constituent materials and concrete cover?

BS 8500-2:2023 specifies constituent materials and concrete and complements BS EN 206 by providing United Kingdom national provisions where required or permitted by BS EN 206.

BS 8500-2:2023 also covers materials, methods of testing and procedures that are outside the scope of BS EN 206, but within national experience.

Why should you use BS 8500-2:2023 - Specification for constituent materials and concrete?

• To lower carbon. BS EN 197‑5:2021 introduced cements with up to 65% of the Portland cement replaced by two or more lower carbon additions. Now BS 8500-2:2023 includes BS EN 197-5 constituent materials for use in general purpose cements, giving users information they need to adopt lower carbon concretes.
• To increase innovation and confidence. By giving guidance on novel specifications and their durability in a national standard, BS 8500-2:2023 can help accelerate the adoption of innovative multi-component concretes that use less Portland cement and more lower carbon supplementary cementitious material. It can also help increase confidence in this concrete.

To help the UK construction sector meet customer and other stakeholder expectations. The construction industry needs access to lower carbon concretes as soon as possible to meet clients’ net zero targets, especially if the availability of GGBS diminishes in the UK and alternatives need to be used. BS 8500-2:2023 will help with their adoption.

BS 8500-2:2023 contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth, Goal 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure and Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production.

What’s new about BS 8500-2:2023?

This new edition of BS 8500-2 incorporates technical changes only. It does not represent a full revision of the document, which will be undertaken in due course. The principal changes are:

1. the inclusion of BS EN 197-5 cements and their equivalent combinations as general-purpose cements
2. the redefinition of a production day for air content test
3. clauses for production, delivery and conformity requirements moved to a new normative annex
4. amendment of the combination conformity procedures for the new equivalent combinations
5. corrections and minor clarifications
6. all references have been updated

The changes are predominantly concerned with the increased range of cementitious materials covered. BS EN 197-5 introduced CEM II/C-M and CEM IV multi-component cements with a lower proportion of clinker than allowable by BS EN 197-1. The conformity procedure for combinations and examples have been expanded for the equivalent combinations of Portland composite and composite cements.